Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘Treasuring our days Canterbury’s estates
Last month relived the days of growing up on a Canterbury housing estate in the 1950s. This week he tells how things changed in the city throughout his teenage years
Our early teens on council estates in the late 50s and early 60s were very special times.
Music played a very big part of those teenage days. Everything in music was new then.
We had the likes of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Rolling Stones and, of course, The Beatles. Most families had either a Dansette Record Player or a Radiogram, so we would spend time at each other’s homes listening to the latest hits. Some of the lads on Canterbury estates formed bands and played at local youth clubs and dances. Gradually our interest in train sets, Meccano and dolls waned as new interests took over.
There was still a great community spirit on the estates so we could go in and out of each others houses and were always made to feel welcome. Discipline by parents was still very strict so we were always on our best behaviour.
We did get up to mischief around the estates but never any graffiti or vandalism. I think the most we ever did was play ‘knock down ginger’, which was just knocking on people’s front doors and running away as fast as we could.
Wages had increased by then so fitted carpets and wallpaper started to appear.
More families were buying their first cars. The empty streets we called playgrounds, hosting games of football, skipping and kiss chase were lost to lines of parked cars. Most of the cars on the estate were well-worn second-hand vehicles, but it meant freedom for the first time.
My dad’s first car was a converted Ford Poplar van. The back had windows put in and wood embellishments were added very much like a Morris Traveller. From memory, dad paid £15 for it. The family called it the Diddymobile.
Car servicing and repairs were carried out in the road outside our homes. When it was time for an oil change, the old oil was poured down the nearest drain. No environmental direction in those days.
Lads and lassies started courting in their teens. Parents kept a close eye on the couples and they were generally not allowed to spend time together without supervision.
Most of us were allowed to spend times in our partner’s bedrooms, listening to music, but only if the light stayed on and the door was kept wide open. Parents would appear at the door at regular intervals with some lame excuse or other. Couples would be seen walking round the estate with their arms round each other. All very innocent in those days.
As some couples got serious, engagements and weddings followed.
Very few lived with their parents as there seemed to be enough housing for all. Some couples who had well-paid jobs joined the property ladder. That was quite a step up as very few parents living on council estates in those days ever thought they could become homeowners. Many of them continued to live John Walker on his bike and inset, John in his teens
‘We didn’t have the need for alcohol to enjoy ourselves then’
their lives out in their rented council houses.
As lads turned 16, many of them bought scooters or motorcycles. The birth of Mods and Rockers. The estates became rather noisy then with the sounds of bike engines and we weren’t too popular. Times were changing.
We gradually spent more time in Canterbury town centre rather than on the estates. We would meet in coffee bars in St Peters Street. Mods would meet in the Cherry Pie, and Rockers in The Black Poodle. Acaris Coffee shop was neutral ground for both factions. All had large juke boxes and that’s how we spent our evenings, drinking milky coffees, chatting and listening to music. We didn’t have the need for alcohol to enjoy ourselves then.
Many of us went from two-wheel transport to four wheels – much better for courting away from the ever-watchful eyes of parents.
Saturday nights on the estates around Canterbury would see